1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data compression and/or expansion, and more particularly, to a memory addressing method suitable for systems performing data compression and/or expansion such as audio and/or video systems having a variable speed data reproduction capability.
2. Background Information
At present, many commercially-available electrical devices such as consumer electronics products do not provide variable speed data reproduction capabilities. However, it is anticipated in the future that such capabilities may become more commonplace in these devices. A variable speed data reproduction capability can provide users with the ability to control the speed at which data such as audio and/or video data is reproduced. That is, a user may provide inputs to increase or decrease the speed at which a video and/or audio segment is played back. For example, a user may manipulate buttons or make menu selections regarding the speed at which reproduction will take place.
In devices providing such a variable speed data reproduction capability, signal compression or expansion may be used to increase or decrease the rate of speed at which data is reproduced. These devices also require memory devices such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) for the storage of data. The cost of devices having a variable speed data reproduction capability depends among other things on the size of the memory used. Therefore, in order to minimize the cost of these devices, it is incumbent to keep memory requirements for these devices as low as possible. The present invention addresses this and other problems.